Nintendo Quest: The Gems of the Gateway
by Dark Sploosh
Summary: The Nintendo characters are slowly drawn into a war that threatens the entire universe.


Nintendo Quest  
The Gems of the Gateway  
  
By Dark Sploosh  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters/places in this story. Not a single one.  
  
Prolouge: Gate to the Golden Room  
  
Mario strolled down the path towards Princess Peach's castle, whistling his theme song. It was a wonderful day in the Mushroom Kingdom. The sun was out, there were few clouds, and it was nice and warm. A perfect day if there ever was one.  
Mario couldn't wait to get to the castle. Peach had sent him a letter via Parakerry that said she had been watching the courtyard from her room, when she noticed a strange man down in it. She had described him as wearing a long gray coat, with spiky silver hair. He had been too far away for her to see anything else. He had walked over to the fountain and raised his hand, and a portal, glowing in gold, had appeared in front of him. He walked through it, and disappeared. She wanted him to come and check it out.  
The plumber had grabbed his cap and ran out the door of his pad as soon as he had finished reading the letter. He hadn't even bothered to wake Luigi. It had just been so long since anything exciting had happened, and he was eager for another adventure, even if it was just to check out Peach's fountain.  
He soon saw the red towers of Mushroom Castle poke over the emerald hills, and as he neared, the whole castle itself. He strode up to the huge oak doors and knocked. A little hole opened up in the door, and a pair of huge eyes looked out at him.  
"Hey, Mario!" came Toad's childish voice, and the doors swung open. Mario walked in, and greeted Toad. The royal Mushroom retainer bowed for him, and told him where Peach was waiting for him.  
"Thank-a you, Toad," said Mario as he headed for the doors that lead to the basement. The courtyard was at the end of a long hallway behind the basement door. As Mario opened the doors and started down the hallways, he fondly remembered the time when he had been trying to save Peach from Bowser's clutches once again. He had come down this same hallway and chased a boo into the courtyard. He had found it infested with the poltergeists, and had quickly defeated them all.  
He reached the courtyard doors, and swung them open. The sunlight from outside blinded him for a moment, but he quickly lifted his hand to shade his eyes. He inspected the courtyard, and quickly found Peach sitting in front of the fountain, waving at him. He walked up to her, and asked where the man had disappeared.  
"Right about here," she pointed out, and he walked up to the faded inscription on the fountain. He had never found out exactly what it said. No one in all of Mushroom Kingdom knew. Some thought it said "Luigi 567" or something like that. Others thought that it was an incantation to summon a great power. Whatever it was, Mario ignored it and started to inspect the fountain.  
There was nothing out of place. The marble fountain was in the shape of a star, and was currently out of order. It had gained great fame at one point for being the only entrance and exit to Big Boo's Haunt, and many had actually paid admission just to get a peek at the mansion. Getting there was simple. All you had to do was jump in and touch the engraving of the boo at the bottom.  
"Well, Peach, I can't-a find anything wrong-a with." but he was cut off as the water turned bright gold and he felt himself being sucked into it. He looked up at Peach's worried and startled face. He desperately reached out for her hand, but the water wouldn't let him go. His lungs were burning, begging him to breathe. He almost gave up when the golden liquid disappeared, and he found himself spinning in an endless white void.  
  
Epona came to a stop on the grassy plains of Hyrule Field. Her rider, Link, had drawn his bow and readied it. About 50 yards away was a stalfos, a skeletal warrior with a large rusty sword and a round, pointed shield. Link aimed his bow at the unknowing stalfos, took a deep breath, and released the arrow. It shot through the air and impaled the stalfos through the head. The skeleton collapsed, dead.  
Link put his bow away and gently kicked Epona's sides, signaling for her to go forwards. He had been out all day, hunting the remains of Gannondorf's army. With the sun setting, he knew that he was only about halfway done. Once the moon rose and the sky darkened, the stalchildren would come out. Although easier to kill than most monsters, the diminutive stalchildren attacked in numbers.  
Link decided to go get a drink at the tavern, so he started for the gates of the marketplace. Once the sun went down, the gates closed and would open for no one, so that no monsters could get in. Just as he neared the gates, the moat surrounding the high stone walls began to change. As he neared, Link realized that the water was turning yellow. Intrigued, he climbed down off Epona to inspect the water. Other than it's new color, it looked, smelled, felt, and tasted like normal water. By why did the color change? As he was deep in thought, he didn't notice the water begin to ripple in the middle. The tiny waves grew in size and speed quickly, and Link finally noticed them. "What the.?" he started, but he was silenced as a column of water shot into the air. It spread out and landed over him, soaking his tunic. "Ah geez, that's cold!" he complained, but quickly forgot about it. Standing in front of him was Samus Aran. "Samus, what are you doing here?" asked Link. "I don't know myself," she replied, her voice altered by her armor. "I had come to Zebes to check out a bounty for a guy named Xark, when a new metroid suddenly attacked me. I fought back, but was too strong. I was running out of room when I noticed this red portal glowing to my right. I was out of other options, so I jumped in. The next thing I knew, I was here." "That's weird," he said. "I've never seen or heard of a portal like that on Hyrule." "Yeah, and." began Samus, just as the water's color shifted from yellow to gold. A huge wave of the water leapt from the moat and swept over the two friends. Link held his breath as long as he could, until the water slowly disappeared. He was soon sitting on a solid floor, completely dry. "What was that?" asked Link, looking over at Samus. She had no idea. They were in a square room made of pure gold. A few golden columns lined the walls. The only exit from the room was a pair of double doors in front of them, golden as well. "Should we go through the doors?" asked Samus, but before Link could answer, they heard a familiar voice. "Mama mia! Link-a, Samus, what are you-a doing here?" It was Mario.  
  
How was that for a start? R&R! 


End file.
